Republican National Convention 2024 preview

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - The Republican National Convention kicks off Monday in Milwaukee as the GOP tries to take back the White House, with Donald Trump expected to officially become the party nominee.

While originally formed to choose presidential candidates, party conventions have morphed into a TV show to broadcast a candidate’s platform. Republicans hope the event can set the stage for success in November.

The modern American political convention took shape in the early ‘70s when political elites were largely taken out of choosing a candidate and parties began to have voters select a nominee in primaries.

Todd Belt, director of political management at George Washington University, explained the process. “The people in the state were directly selecting delegates to go to the conventions, and those delegates then voted for the nominee. And this tied it much closer to the popularity of the candidate within each of the states.”

With that key change, conventions became more symbolic as candidates were essentially chosen ahead of time.

Conventions have since become more of a production for the public. Belt said in these first post-pandemic conventions, you can expect a show.

“The campaigns since the early 1980s have become much more of a TV show than actually doing the work of the party. I mean the party does do its platform, and it does do the nomination, but we’ve known who the candidate will be many, many decades now,” he said.

Nikki Haley announced she will release her delegates at the convention and is urging them to back Donald Trump.

Belt said after not putting forth a platform in 2020, Republicans appear more centered around the former president for the 2024 convention. “This is a fully choreographed event with Donald Trump at the top of the ticket, and his platform being reflected completely in what the Republicans are saying. This is his show.”

Milwaukee was set to host the Democratic National Convention in 2020, but most in-person components were canceled due to the pandemic.

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